DTC passes valid for cluster services: Delhi transport minister

Bus passes issued by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will be allowed in newly-launched cluster fleet being run by corporate entities.
    
"From Monday, commuters will be able to travel in cluster services using DTC bus passes," Delhi transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said.
    
Earlier, the transport department had said that DTC bus passes will not be valid for cluster services for the next couple of months and they would be applicable in the newly-launched services only after the issuance of smart cards to the pass-holders.
    
The buses under cluster service, launched earlier this week, have electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) and officials said it was decided not to allow manual passes to avoid accounting problem.
    
Lovely today appointed a three-member team comprising transport department officials to monitor the functioning of the cluster service.

The much-awaited cluster bus service, being run by corporate entities was rolled out on Thursday with a fleet of 50 swanky low-floor buses.
    
In 2009, the Delhi government had divided nearly 650 bus routes across the city into 17 clusters -- each comprising profitable and non-profitable routes and decided to give each cluster to a private operator. Three corporate entities were already given contract to operate the services in five
clusters.